CSU boss Markus Söder had recently made a similar statement. From his point of view, NATO’s eastward expansion to include Ukraine “is not on the agenda for a long time,” emphasized Söder. Putin has recently repeatedly called for an end to NATO’s eastward expansion and warned against including Ukraine in the alliance. In that case, war is imminent, he said.
Merz called for toughness in the conflict with Russia, but at the same time considered how Moscow could be involved again in the future. “Russia is a European country. And that’s why we should one day talk to Russia again about a common European policy,” said the CDU party and parliamentary group leader. “G7 could be a format to bring Russia back into contact with the entire West.”